Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, who has been dogged by critics since two police officers were shot, allegedly by a suspected illegal immigrant, said Wednesday that he stands firmly behind the city’s policies on dealing with foreigners.

“Local government’s role is not to arrest, confine or expel those without valid visas,” he said in an interview. “Our policy is to follow the interpretation of federal law.”

Hickenlooper and the Denver Police Department have been accused of running a so-called sanctuary city for illegal immigrants.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., blasted the administration because police did not detain Raul Garcia-Gomez after three routine traffic stops when he produced a valid Mexican driver’s license. Garcia-Gomez was a dishwasher at the Cherry Cricket, owned in part by Hickenlooper.

Hickenlooper said it would not be practical for police to take down the names of those suspected to be illegal during traffic stops and forward them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Not only would such a practice cause people to fear the police, it would “encourage police officers to make subjective judgments based on someone’s appearance, and many people would consider that a form of racial profiling,” he said.

Besides, Hickenlooper said, the immigration agency “has already made it clear that they do not have the resources or manpower to pursue minor traffic offenses.”

Tancredo and others have denounced the mayor for keeping a low public profile on immigration issues since Detective Donald “Donnie” Young was killed and another detective was injured while working off-duty security May 8. The suspect, Garcia-Gomez, is at large.

A group of anti-illegal-immigration activists last week protested on the steps of City Hall. Tancredo has written the Department of Homeland Security, asking it to take action against what he calls sanctuary cities and states.

Republican state Rep. David Schultheis of Colorado Springs accused the mayor of helping illegal immigrants steal jobs from Colorado residents and “driving down salaries for low-income workers.”

During the 2003 mayoral campaign, Hickenlooper’s businesses were found to have employed 80 workers whose Social Security numbers were scrutinized by the federal government. Garcia- Gomez’s documents presented to the Cherry Cricket were also questioned by the Social Security Administration.

Former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, a Democrat, said he would give the mayor a D-minus for his handling of immigration issues.

“I am a real fan of Mayor Hickenlooper and think him the best mayor in my lifetime,” Lamm said in an e-mail. “However, he fails completely to confront the issue of illegal immigration.”

The mayor said he is not skirting the matter; he merely is obeying federal law, which takes the lead on matters of immigration.

“What do they want me to do? Should I build a wall around the city?” he said.

Federal law, according to a 1999 opinion from the city attorney’s office, states that solely being in the United States illegally is a civil violation enforceable only by federal immigration officials. Local police may detain someone only if there is probable cause to believe the person entered the country illegally.

“An arresting officer cannot assume that an alien who admits he lacks proper documentation has violated” the law, the city attorney’s opinion says.

Hickenlooper said he has refrained from taking on his critics because “it’s not a local issue.” His focus, he said, has been on finding Garcia-Gomez, who police believe fled to Los Angeles.

“We will get him,” Hickenlooper said, noting that rumors Garcia-Gomez is in Mexico have not been confirmed.

While the mayor stopped short of saying that the barrage of attention placed on illegal immigration has diverted focus from Young’s shooting, he did say that “it hasn’t helped.”

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